Life sentence for cold-case killing of Arkansas woman

May 7, 2010 at 1:14 PM CDT - Updated June 21 at 1:12 PM

YAKIMA, WA (AP) - A man convicted of killing an Arkansas woman 17 years ago was sentenced Thursday in Yakima to life in prison.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports 57-year-old Clayton Stafford was convicted of aggravated murder for the beating and strangling death of 21-year-old Shawna Yandell. She had been looking for work in Yakima. Her body was found by Boy Scouts in the Yakima River.

Advances in DNA evidence last year help police close the 1993 cold case.